rock and hard place
About a year ago I left a large non-profit organization where I worked for seven years. We lost a lot of money when the pandemic hit. I had to split my time between his three different teams (and three different bosses) and take on less interesting tasks. I left because I found a job in a similar organization with one role instead of three. My new job has a lot to offer: great coworkers, strong mentorship, and professional development in a skill I’ve wanted to work on for a long time. However, the workload is completely unsustainable. I’ve spoken to his boss about this many times and he said he can’t change his job description because he doesn’t have the money to hire someone else and the bureaucracy in the organization is too big.
In January, I started a full-time job at my previous organization. My workload was half what it is now and my salary was slightly higher. I applied and was accepted. Seems perfect except for one thing: a boss I can’t stand, I used to work with him and I spend only a third of his time on that team He was almost unbearable when he was not. I found him to be sexist, full of fanatical bravado, and 15 years behind in his thinking about our field. To do. Is it worth taking this job that makes me frustrated with my boss every day and that the organization seems to be heading in the wrong direction? If it means getting my nights and weekends back?
– Anonymous
One of the most unacceptable aspects of capitalism is having to choose from equally crappy career options. What do you value more — a great boss and work environment but a heavy workload or a terrible boss and a moderate workload? Downtime is very important. Without the opportunity to recharge, spend time with loved ones, and pursue personal interests, it’s difficult to maintain good performance at work. How much do you enjoy your time? Have you considered a third option: a position at a completely different company?
Email Crime and Misdemeanor
I was recently fired from a company for adding “non desinetis vapulare donec animi vobis fuerint refecti” to the end of my email signature line. It is essentially a Latin word, not a literal translation of “not to stop being beaten until the spirit is restored” or “the whipping continues until the morale is up.” It’s a phrase on a T-shirt I saw in Key West. It was part of my signature line for ten months, but frankly, I forgot about it.
The new HR manager told me that this does not reflect well on the corporate brand. I understood the reprimand. I accept personal improvement plans. He said it was a corporate decision and nothing more. In January, I received glowing reviews and a raise for meeting or exceeding expectations in all areas.
Discussions with colleagues after the shootings speculate that more had been afoot since the senior leadership team was replaced two months ago. My direct supervisor resigned unexpectedly three weeks before my dismissal. Before leaving, he hinted that layoffs might be imminent.
My question is: Is this a fireable crime? Or was it just an excuse to cut headcount and costs to cut my salary and not have to pay severance pay? Any legal recourse? I know employment is free in my state. I’m 63, so I’m wondering if there was some age bias that led to my dismissal.
– Anonymous
If employed in any state, anything can be a dismissable offense unless the dismissal was based on discrimination. That said, it’s very strange to get fired for email signatures, especially when you’ve received glowing reviews and pay raises lately. How would would undermine the brand? Getting fired for a single minor offense that isn’t particularly offensive is overkill at best.
I’m not sure a company’s management can justify this without a pattern of behavior. If they were planning a layoff and were trying to save costs then yes they could have done this to avoid paying you severance and this is very unfair Talk to an employment attorney to see what your options are. Something is definitely off here.
Roxanne Gay Most recently, he is the author and contributing opinion writer of Hunger.write a letter to her workfriend@nytimes.com.
